Deadly Vacation (Hardy Brothers Security Book 10) by Lily Harper Hart Page A

trepidation. “There’s no way.  I could get lost and never find my way out again.”
    “It’s a tour,” Mandy said, pointing to the front door where the couple – Stanley and Iris – were paying for tickets. “If they can do it, you should be able to do it.”
    Emma crossed her arms over her chest obstinately. “No way.”
    “I’ll stay out here with her,” Sophie said. “You go on the tour. We’ll be fine. We have our bottles of water.”
    On a normal day, Mandy would have been fine with the suggestion. The thought of James’ reaction to the idea was giving her pause. “Oh, never mind. Let’s just go back and wait for the streetcar.”
    “I thought you wanted to see the ghosts,” Emma said.
    “James will not like it if we split up,” Mandy said. “I’ve weighed how much I want to see the ghosts and compared it to how much I don’t want to get in a fight with my husband. The ghosts lose.”
    Sophie sighed and cast a sidelong look in Emma’s direction. “Can’t you just go in for a few minutes? I’ll hold your hand so there’s no way you’ll get lost. Mandy really wants to see the house – and we’re here. I’m sure it won’t take more than a few minutes.”
    Emma hated being the wet blanket, like she so often was. She definitely didn’t want to see any ghosts. She also didn’t want to ruin Mandy’s day. “Fine. If I get separated, though, I’m never trusting you two again.”
    “We’ve got it,” Sophie said, clasping Emma’s hand in her own. “It’s just going to be a quick tour. We’ll let Mandy scare the bejeezus out of herself, and then we’ll be on our way.”
    “Twenty minutes,” Emma warned.
    “Twenty minutes,” Mandy agreed. She clapped her hands together excitedly. “This is going to be so much fun.”
     
    “DID you see where Mandy went?” Sophie asked.
    After a brief scan of the first two floors, Emma was done. They’d lost Mandy within five minutes – despite her admonishment to stick close – and now they were loitering around the foyer waiting for her. “I saw her for exactly five seconds and then she was gone,” Emma said. “I’ve never seen anyone that excited to see ghosts.”
    “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think there are really ghosts here,” Sophie said. “I think Mandy just wishes there were ghosts here.”
    Emma studied the cobwebs in the corner doubtfully. “Besides a ghost, who would want to live here?”
    Sophie snickered. Emma was a neat freak. She figured it had something to do with growing up in a world where she couldn’t control anything. “I’m betting no one actually lives here. The house is purely for business purposes.”
    “We should find Mandy,” Emma said. “What if something has happened to her?”
    “I’m sure she’s fine,” Sophie said. “She’s probably begging ghosts to talk to her.” Sophie furrowed her brow. “Stay right here – and I mean right here. I’m going to take a quick look around the first floor. I won’t go upstairs. If that doesn’t work, we’ll wait for her on the front sidewalk. Okay?”
    Emma nodded. “James is going to be really mad.”
    “Something tells me Mandy can handle James,” Sophie said. “And if she can’t, they’ll have a screaming match and then some wild make up sex. They’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”
    Once Sophie was gone, Emma scanned the foyer again. It was deliberately filthy, and that was something she just couldn’t understand. She’d grown up in filth. It wasn’t something she wanted to return to.
    For lack of anything better to do, Emma ambled over to the display case on the front wall. The owners had assembled a multitude of newspaper clippings and old photographs – most of which were supposed to depict some sort of paranormal experience. In her head, Emma knew the photos were probably staged. In her heart, she was worried something bad had happened in this house. As someone who had grown up in her own version of horror, she had no